Another incredibly strange episode of ''Captain Video and His Video Rangers'', the DuMont Television Network series which, in fact, was the first science fiction show ever to air on TV. However, to fill up time of each LIVE episode, they showed clips from old westerns. This episode also features original commercials. Reviews of the series at the time were mixed


This movie is part of the collection: Classic TV

Production Company: DuMont Television Network
Audio/Visual: Sound, Black and White
Keywords: Classic TV; Television; 50's; 50s; 1950's; 1950s; Fifties; Science Fiction; Sci-Fi; Western; Strange; Weird; Public Domain; DuMont Network; DuMont Television Network; Du Mont Network; Du Mont Television Network;

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Htos1 - - November 1, 2012
Subject: Just cool!
I'm a 60's kid,so I got all the benefits of the kids who watched this and were inspired to go to Nasa and the networks,later.Thanks Saita,keep 'em coming.Oh,and I agree,w/o DuMont,NO tv as it's known today!

Reviewer: cosmico - - March 27, 2012
Subject: ZAP
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Reviewer: Earlon - - February 21, 2010
Subject: A catalog site for Classic TV shows
If you like Classic TV from of the 50's, there is a catalog site that makes it easy to watch episodes streaming from Archive.org at:

http://www.solie.org/ClassicTV

There are currently over 400 individual episodes of about 30 different programs, and the site is growing day by day. Check it out!

Reviewer: Meatpies - - March 10, 2009
Subject: People don't know what they're truly watching...
And that's why they complain and insult Dumont television.

It's like complaining about a Ford Model T after looking at a 1959 Ford Thunderbird. You wouldn't have had the Thunderbird without the Model T coming first.

Dumont really worked hard at being the ground-breaker for what we all take for granted today... television.

Reviewer: Seto-Kaiba_Is_Stupid - - February 1, 2009
Subject: I Uploaded This
Who'd a thought that a show with:
1. No props
2. No special effects
3. Sets that consist of painted walls
4. Scripts from comic book writers
5. Broadway actors
6. Commercials for candy-coated cereal
7. Stiff dialog
8. Clips from low budget westerns
Could of been a hit? And yet, it lasted for 6 years, and actually was watched by many people who later wrote for "Star Trek", not to mention many NASA employees. Campy? Yes. But without this show, there would never of been all the higher quality sci-fi of later years.

My verdict: Watch it as a campy sci-fi show, and it's OK.

EDIT: I didn't mean to be so negative. It's just that everytime I upload a DuMont program, people complain, so I was hoping that my list would stop people from complaining. I didn't mean to insult broadway actors or comic book writers.

Reviewer: drdee51 - - February 1, 2009
Subject: This is Why it Was a Hit.
Given all the alleged negatives the poster has presented, there is an answer as to why it was a hit. First, the show presented a story. A comprehensible story will carry a show even if the writers are "comic book" writers. You see, writers of comic books need to know how to write concrete stories. Second. Broadway actors? That means they are better actors than the rest. Third. Special effects are meaningless and are only relevant to the extent they help tell the story. Campy? The show was for children. Live television, yes it is. There is no one person involved with TV today with the knowledge to produce a show like this and make it work as these folks did.